Andy Irons World Champ

Nailing down Andy Irons after his third world championship was quite a task. First of all, he won in Brazil and immediately disappeared into the night. Then, he went back to Kaua’i and laid low with close family and friends. Next, he jumped into the lion’s den (or should I say, the wolf’s den) that is the North Shore of O’ahu and really got out of reach. For the first two weeks after clinching his third world title, Andy has been in a whirlwind of press, elated friends, proud family, and minions of fans monitoring his every move. I finally caught up with Andy on the phone as he sat in the bleachers of the Sunset contest. He was watching his brother Bruce surf in the third round of the O’neill World Cup, behind Andy’s main rival, and one of his best friends, Joel Parkinson. As Andy talked to me, he got hoots from friends, made plans for the night, cheered for Bruce, fielded other calls, and even signed a few autographs. He’s a busy man, and the most popular guy on the North Shore at the moment. -Chris Cote

TransWorld SURF: Andy? Can you hear me? What is that going on behind you?

Andy Irons: I’m at the Sunset contest watching Bruce (Andy stops talking to me and starts cheering for Bruce). Go, Bruce! F-k, that was a good one. (Back to me) Okay, what was I saying?

Nothing. Let me ask you something. How’s the third crown compared to the first?

They’re all really special to me, but the first one of course was the best because I never thought I’d get one.

How was clinching it that early?

It was insane. It felt so good ’cause the weight was lifted off my shoulders and I could just cruise and enjoy it.

Wait. (Yells again) Go! Go! F-k, that’s gonna be a good one.

So, have you been going mad? Partying like crazy?

Yeah. There’s been a lot of celebrating.

What happened right after you won in Brazil?

The first thing I did was drink a beer with Parko. Then I went out and surfed a heat, lost, went straight to the hotel, changed, then hit the club that was in the same hotel we were at. They had full-on fireworks, and we drank champagne all night. It was insane.

What about when you went home?

Met everybody at the airport and had another party at a restaurant called Bamboo Bamboo on Kaua’i. We rented it out for the night and had all the family and friends there-that was another good one. Billabong sent six bottles of Cristal.

Shit. That’s what I was gonna bring you.

Bring it. We can always use more Cristal.

What’s next?

Well, going home for a second, going to the Eddie ceremony, then who knows? I just roll with whatever now. The pressure’s off, totally off my shoulders. I’m cruising with friends, loving life. Oh yeah, Coor’s Light is sponsoring another party for me at Waimea Falls in a few days. Natural Vibrations is playing-that should be fun. Like I said, I’m just enjoying the whole thing. No pressure, it’s great!

We’re really stoked for you. What do you think-gonna make it four?

I hope so. Everybody’s ripping so hard. Parko should be tough, of course. Who knows, I’m not even thinking about that right now. Right now I’m thinking about getting in the car and going home for a second.